In optical communication transmission systems having optical fibers, a link switching function is required at network nodes in any network configuration. An optical signal that is conducted to the node via a communication link fiber should be used for the switching. It is conceivable to transmit this switching signal with a wavelength differing from that of the communication channel or to send it in the communication channel as a chronologically coded instruction. For this second possibility, a module for a network configuration must be able to fundamentally execute the following functions: to function as an optoelectronic detector that receives a small part of the incoming signal and forwards it for instruction decoding; to function as an optical switch that switches the optical path from one branch to another; and to function as an amplifier that at least compensates for losses that necessarily occur in these components during infeed and outfeed of the light. The detection switching, amplifier and waveguide functions can be fundamentally realized with III-V semiconductor components.
A monolithically integrated structure of these function elements in one optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) is not known in the prior art. A monolithic integration of a network configuration module would have the advantage of minimum complexity and minimum structural length. Due to the single-mode silica fibers and due to wavelengths in the range from 1.3 .mu.m through 1.55 .mu.m that are essentially employed in optical communication technology, such an optoelectronic integrated circuit of a network configuration module based on semiconductor material of the system InP/InGaAsP/InGaAlAs would be especially advantageous.